Pattaya —
Pattaya entertainment venue operators gathered to deny allegations that they paid bribes to Pattaya police to avoid being raided or stay open past the legal closing time.
Our previous story:
Now for our update:
The allegations sprang up after a famous pub, CLUB ONE PATTAYA, was raided earlier this week coupled with pictures that went viral on social media of what netizens believed to be Pol. Maj. Gen. Kittanate Thanananthavisin, Chief Commander of Chonburi Police, and a group of Pattaya law enforcement officials, having a meal inside an unnamed venue.
The pictures also included a paper note scribbled with the familiar names of entertainment venues and numbers that netizens said were the amounts that each venue paid to the police. Police and entertainment venues now say this is fake.
At 10 PM yesterday, October 24th, Mrs. Amporn Kaewsang and other venue operators in Pattaya held a press conference to clarify the allegations. Firstly, she admitted that the people in the pictures were law enforcement officers and Pol. Maj. Gen. Kittanate Thanananthavisin, who had just been promoted to a new position. However, all the officers were just there to exchange thoughts and inform venue operators about new police policies so that every operator would be on the same page.
Mrs. Amporn also said she would pursue legal action against whoever published the pictures and falsely accused Pattaya nightlife business operators. Anyone who claims bars and entertainment venues pay officials to stay open later or avoid raids could also face legal action.
Mrs. Lisa Hamilton, chairman of the Pattaya Nightlife Business Association, expressed her grievances to the press, saying Pattaya nightlife venues were the target of criticism again even though the allegations were not true. The return of tourists came as bright excitement for the business operators, but now law enforcement would tighten everything up and ruin the moment.
Mrs. Lisa added that some names on the alleged bribery note were places that shut down long ago during the pandemic, and some were old names, meaning that it was fake.
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